An unpalatable matured-longgrass bedding technique for improved cattle manure preparation methods
January 1, 2023 - Mukai, Shiro; Ramish, Joshua Joseph; Coulibali, Adama
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EmailJournal or Book Title: Tropical Agriculture and Development
Abstract: In the Sudano-Sahelian Segou, Mali, soil fertility in the fields has recently declined. Preliminary action research was conducted in one village to develop innovative cattle manure preparation methods. Field tests were implemented based on a study on the crop-livestock system in the study area to compare improved cattle manure preparation methods (IM) with the local cattle manure preparation method (LM). A participatory ranking exercise was conducted with the stakeholders for future scaling-up, which assessed that the IM with unpalatable matured-longgrass bedding techniques was compatible with the local socio-ecological systems. The quantity of manure and nutrient supply per cattle head per day (capital productivity) derived from the IM increased by 67% and 21-56%, respectively. The quantity of manure and nutrient supply per labour requirement (labour productivity) from the IM increased by 38% and -15 to 32%, respectively. The increasing rate of capital productivity was more than that of labour productivity; i.e., the longgrass bedding technique is labour-intensive. The longgrass bedding technique puts non-value-added long grasses left in grasslands to use, encouraging the nutrient transfer from grasslands to croplands and strengthening the present crop-livestock integration in the study area. The preliminary action research proved that the unpalatable matured-longgrass bedding technique could be an appropriate cattle manure preparation method for sustainable agricultural intensification from the millet- and sorghum-based low-productivity agriculture in the Sudano-Sahelian Segou. Further on-site experiments with the stakeholders for future scaling-up should be conducted for the next step.
Type of Publication: Journal article